MERRITT HERALD EST. 1905
THURSDAY, September 19, 2024 • www.X.com/merrittherald • www.merrittherald.com
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Block watch amidst surge in crime Kenneth Wong reporter@merrittherald.com
Engines were roaring at Merritt Speedway over the weekend. Page 25. Photo/Kenneth Wong
E-PETITION
City of Merritt launched an e-petition seeking federal support for disaster mitigation.
FORESTRY WEEK
The Herald is running stories to celebrate the B.C. National Forestry Week.
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A group of Merrittonians have decided to create a block watch after rising crime. Citizens on Patrol, who held their first meeting on Sept. 13, was formed by Merritt residents Bryan Halfordilo, Jenn Ann Fraser, and Michael Larden in response to the recent surge in crime and the homeless shelter being moved from Merritt Desert Inn to Knights Inn. “The more eyes in the community we have, the better,” said Halfordilo. “We’re not here to confront people, we’re here to just watch, and if we have to, call the police on certain situations.” The meeting discussed logistics and safety of organizing the patrols. Larden has contacted the Vancouver Police Citizens Crimewatch program for documents on their rules and regulations, planning to collaborate with the mayor, police, and others to create local guidelines, ensuring clarity on what can and cannot be done for the Citizens on Patrol initiative. The patrol group is looking to acquire radios for internal coordination as well as communication with the RCMP.
“I think it’s going to be a positive thing moving on, because there’s strength in numbers,” said City Councillor Paul Petroczi. “Policing is a lot tougher now than when I was a member.” “That’s why reporting helps,” said Fraser. “Even a report helps, it’s not necessarily ending that crime right there right now, but getting that report helps. “We want to make sure that everything we do with this group is above board and within the confines of the law so that everyone is protected.” Larden also volunteered to take on the role as an administrator and incident accountant for the patrol group. “I think if there’s some sort of organization for keeping in contact, for somebody to hold all the information and organize it, like administrative,” said a resident that inspired Larden to take on the role. “We can go to the RCMP station and hand them one radio and say ‘if you want to have a car that has the one radio on it, we go out, and if we see something, we can radio them right away,’” said Larden. “That’s essentially what happens in Vancouver, they have two police officers that, in their police cars, they have a radio that is
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